


Goodbye

by arecumbentibus



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, F/M, Gen, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 13:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7937260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arecumbentibus/pseuds/arecumbentibus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He brings her flowers, but they aren’t roses. He’s not that kind of man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodbye

He brings her flowers, but they aren’t roses. He’s not that kind of man.

There is high green grass surrounding him, light wind beating on the back of his cuffed jacket and the familiar smell of old and new, mixed together. The sun lights up his edge-ridden face and he sits in silence, wishing he had come sooner, wishing he hadn’t had to come at all…

In his mind's eyes, she is strong and so, so alive. He wants to touch her cheek and stroke her blond hair that always seems to light up in his presence. Just to touch her would be a miracle, just to see her smile and bask in her joyous and musical laugh.

But miracles are short-coming these days.

His eyes are open, but unseeing, unmoving. In a silence only broken by the call of a Mockingbird, he begins to speak. “Rose Tyler, you’ve done magnificently! Beat my expectations by a clear kilometre and believe me and you, that’s _really_ saying something.” He laughs without mirth; it’s a horribly bitter sound.

“I brought you flowers if you hadn’t noticed. I… Well, I didn’t think you’d want roses. They’re dandelions; you used to say how much you liked them, back before everything _changed_.” He dips his head, sensing that it’s suddenly flushed, pretending that it’s because of the angry wind. “It’s a wonder that I remember, but when it comes to you I seem to have a hard time forgetting." 

There’s a smile, a small and secret smile, playing behind his lips before he sets the flowers down in front of him. His hands immediately find themselves in his pockets and he misses having something more for them to do. He thinks he might be even more hyper than usual. 

"Jack says hello and he’s sorry he couldn’t come. He’s off undergoing some secret mission that I probably wouldn’t approve of and I think he’s taking the whole "man who can’t die” thing a bit too fondly lately. I mean, really, running into laser beams should not be considered a sport!“ Despite himself he smiles. "But anyways, I went to see Martha and Mickey last week. They’re doing brilliant, with another kid on the way. Martha said she was going to name him John Smith, but I don’t think Mickey was too keen on the idea…”

He imagines she’d be laughing by this point, telling him that any kid of Mickey should never be named John because then they’re just asking for trouble; he’d look the part of offended and she would plaster her beautiful lips to his and say, “Is that better?”

And of course, it would be better.

He sighs, intakes of oxygen not seeming to want to work with his lungs right now. His universe is spinning and he can see stars, beautiful stars that Rose will never see again. “But you should know, Rose, that you changed the universe. I’ve said it before, I know, but really, things would be worse off if not for you… And so would I.”

He sits there for a few more minutes, just taking in what lies before him. His hand shoots out of his pocket and finds its way to the cold marble, willing himself to believe and accept that this is true, that she is really gone and that he must leave her again. In his hearts he wants to stay, through rain and snowfall, he wants to sit and just stare, stare at what this beautiful woman of pink and yellow has become. But in his mind, he knows he must not, can not, has to keep going.

With one last glance, he stands and whispers, “Goodbye Rose Tyler, the girl who crossed universes to get to me. I hope you still see the galaxy from where you’re standing.”

**Author's Note:**

> This work was posted to my Tumblr (killthefez) on January 3rd, 2011.


End file.
